Interview with Rene Methner of Para Lia for WoNoBlog

Interview: Wout de Natris

© WoNo Magazine 2021 

 

Now Para Lia, the Cottbus, Germany band of René and Cindy Methner, has released two albums and some singles, most were reviewed on this blog, it was time for me to learn more about Para Lia. What is behind the strong imagery of the album 'Gone With The Flow'?, was something I was particularly curious about. René Methner answers all in this interview and shows how strongly he was motivated by the work of artist Louis Renzoni, with whom he fully collaborates, both ways, as you are about to find out.

 

Para Lia is not an average name for a German band. What is the reason for the band’s name and what makes Greece special for you?

Παραλία means "coast" or "beach" in Greek. It was the place Cindy and me once thought about a name for the alt rock project we were working on. We, and me especially, have a deep connection with Greece. It is the place where you can take a deep breath to fill your soul with energy – when your batteries run low.

You are a duo, where you, René, create and play most of the music. Can you take us back to a time before Para Lia. Did you play and/or sing in bands?

I started to make music in a band as a student when I was 18. Our band was called ‘The Shuttlecocks’ and we started with 3 chords, practised every day, played live gigs then, recorded an album, produced a CD, got good critics in zines like ‘RockHard’ – and then we split. After The Shuttlecocks I played in a band called ‘Molz’. Later I paused because of different reasons. But never stopped to play the guitar. In late 2017 I felt the urge to write my own songs again – there was something inside of me, wanting to get out – and with the song ‘Soap Bubble Dreams’ Para Lia was born.

Was there a special reason that you decided to start working on your own and if so what was that reason?

It is a freedom in writing, playing and recording your own stuff. You are not bound on special times in the rehearsal room for instance, you are not a slave of the ‘band members time management’, you can work whenever your own creativity and your own time allows it. I love that.

You are first a guitar player is my guess. What are your favourite guitar players and which one(s) influenced you most?

I got my first acoustic guitar as a teen and from somewhere I got the ‘Live Rust’ album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse. I started to jam to songs like ‘Cortez the Killer’. I still love the Crazy Horse stuff and it is definitely a huge influence. I love a melodic guitar – with a good dose of edges. I also love the style of J. Mascis – ‘Riders On The Dike’ from the last album is a kind of a musical reminiscence. But I am also a fan of the 60’s garage rock and the early fuzz sound of that era. And there are a lot of indie rock bands of the 90’s with a fantastic guitar sound, such as Seam, Pixies, Buffalo Tom, Motorpsycho, etc.

If you could pick one band or artist that you could play with who would that be and why?

Norway's ‘Motorpsycho’. One of the best live bands ever in my humble opinion. Pure magic.

What were your favourite albums when growing up? Has that changed over the years?

I still love the stuff I loved when I was a young guy. Besides of ‘Live Rust’, definitely ‘Doolittle’. So bloody cool and musically a cathedral of indie rock. As a teen I also discovered bands from the previous times, such as Slade – I still love their energy.

You’ve called your new album ‘Gone With The Flow’. What is the idea behind the title and where did the flow take you?

To a collaboration with the New York based artist called Louis Renzoni. Music and paintings – the meeting of both and the relationship between both art forms is the essence of the album. You can get an impression if you visit the 3D online exhibition with all album songs by Para Lia, paintings from Louis Renzoni, background informations, videos etc.

Give it a visit here: https://www.sophisticatedape.com/gone-with-the-flow-exhibition/

Another image that returns are “the riders on the dike”. Where are they going and what makes this image so strong that you used it twice on the album. (And where is that dike?)

The image appears first on the album in the track 'Children Of The Flood‘ as "rider on the white horse on the dike". Louis’s work plays with many interesting shades and suggestions. A lot of his paintings connect the modern with expressions which seem to come from 19th century aesthetics. It feels like a surreal view into the Victorian age. With this thought in mind, the lyrics to ‘Children Of The Flood’ made an appearance. Having a base in one of the finest lyrical "paintings" of the German 19th century novel ‘The Rider On The Dike’ by Theodor Storm. A dark novel, a Faustian plot, and a ghost rider on a white horse on a dike. The lyrics attempt to connect the overall impression of Louis' and Storm’s work to a current narrative, to save the dike, perhaps a metaphor for much of what we see happening around us? The balance here was to try and hold back the outright rage which is often part of modern discourse.

"The darker the shadow the brighter the light" is a quote from Louis and was the title of one of his exhibitions in NYC some years ago. 'Riders On The Dike' is the companion piece to the track ’Children Of The Flood‘ and it provides the light to the dark of ’Children..‘ It's a straight ahead 3 chord progression which carries the lightness at a galloping pace.

In ‘Fade To Grey’ you sing that you slowly “fade to grey”, while the music does everything but fade to grey. Was it a conscious choice to have the upbeat tempo and guitar sound contrast with the lyrics?

With the lyrics and with the monotonous voice, yes. But the main ‘image’ here in the track is not the part of the ‘fading’. It is the part of the fear of the artist to fade away because he feels that he lost his muse and his creativity. He is nervous, desperate, begins to become insane. Like a lover who lost his love.

You are from Eastern Germany. When the region is in the news here in The Netherlands, it usually is not very positive. You live there and have lived through a period of great changes and transitions. Has this influenced you in your songwriting in any way?

Of course it did. In the ‘German Democratic Republic’, the former socialistic part of Germany, there was a heavy censorship. Songwriters were not allowed to say what they wanted to say in a clear way and so a lot of song lyrics from that period are very picturesque, full of metaphors and stuff. I love to  write some of my lyrics the same way – one of the reasons why ‘Gone With The Flow’ became what it is – full of metaphors - musical paintings – visually surrounded by Louis great artwork.

You are from Cottbus. Is there a music scene in Cottbus and if so, who should we start listening to?

Give a listen to the Sandow song ‘Born In The GDR’ – and you will have a good impression of the alternative music scene of East Germany in the late 80’s. Today there still is a fine music scene in Cottbus, far from being one dimensional. Heroes of the Cottbus indie rock scene, still are the guys of the band ‘Hundert11’ who offer a sort of fun-punk-alt-rock’. The Cottbus radio station ‘Radio Cottbus’ offered a weekly special called #supportyourlocalartist. A great idea – and it widened the horizon for the huge variety of quality artists we have in our region, so as Mägniss, Emotional Winter and so many more.

The drumming on ‘Gone With The Flow’ is tremendously tight. I understand that you programme the drums. How do you build / record your songs? Where do you start?

With a song playing in my head. So I grab a guitar and start to work it out, first I arrange the drums and record the drums. Then I usually add the bass and the rhythm guitar and step by step the rest.

Cindy sings lead on ‘Kassandra’. What made this her song?

I wanted her to sing the song from the moment the song began to play in my head. And I worked it out with her voice in my head. So it was a natural process.

‘Gone With The Flow’ was released as a beautiful LP. Can you share a little about the artwork? What made you chose the work of Louis Renzoni, as it is such a strong imagery?

This again is a question I would like to answer with: Hey, head over the exhibition on sophisticated ape and get your own impression and get some background information. (https://www.sophisticatedape.com/gone-with-the-flow-exhibition/)

In Corona days there’s no need to think about performing live, but let’s suppose (and hope) that things will go to normal in 2022. What are your plans with your music?

We are working at the moment on new material. First songs are finished. But we are unbound – and so there is no pressure behind it nor a timeline. Maybe it becomes an EP? We will let you know! 

You can order and listen to Para Lia's music here:

https://paralia.bandcamp.com/

or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

Week 26 / 10 singles

We are half way the year, summer is officially upon us in the northern hemisphere, restrictions on the pandemic are lifted. Whether that last one is a smart one to do, time will tell us. If we're unlucky, relentlessly. In the meantime we will all enjoy the chances summer offers. Musically, I present another very diverse set of recent singles and EPs. Had you asked me about all the acts present here, with the exception of one world star, had I not have this blog and the relations coming from it, I would have just stared at you. Who? Now, I can share great songs with you, from metal, to singer-songwriter and country(rock) to garage rock and back. And Lorde, who has released a truly great single. Enjoy!

Technodrone. The Ugly Kings

Listening to Technodrone, the single from Melbourne band The Ugly Kings' upcoming album 'Strange, Strange Times', brings me back decades to my first, and only, Nazareth album, 'Loud 'N' Proud'. Songs like 'Not Faking It' and 'Teenage Nervous Breakdown', without my realising it, introduced me to hardrock. Technodrone is the 2021 version of hardrock. The slowly proceeding time has brought dozens of other bands that made variations to that emulation of hardrock Nazareth made at the time. Anyone hearing The Ugly Kings play the song can fill in a few of their own favourites. It all results in a song that rocks with influences from the new wave darkness of the mid 80s, some post grunge from around 2000, ending with some desert rock from the south-western U.S.A. It's all in this song, that pushes all the right rock buttons.

Nowhere Friday Nights EP. Linnea's Garden

Linnea's Garden has featured a few times in this spot before. With the whole EP available it is time to focus on the output of Linnea Herzog once again. 'Non-Dramatic Breakup Song' sounds as uncomplicated as the title is hopeful. A nice alternative pop song that pushes all the right buttons. 'Friday Night' continues this mood perfectly. Linnea's Garden masters the challenge to successfully combine the up with the somewhere in between, so the mood never gets to the down. Musically that is an extremely attractive position to be in as both can be stressed within seconds within a song. Match a minor chord with jubilant singing and everybody is jumping on the roof instead of jumping off. 'Friday Night' has this beautiful melody, while really hitting the instruments hard, past the point that is seemly in a studio, creating a thick layer of feedback here and there. 'Replacement' is a, all in perspective, softer song that I could imagine to have found a spot on a late 70s Blondie album. Debbie Harry's band would have nothing to be ashamed of had it been able to cover it at the time. 'Glitter' really goes for the throat, with the lead guitar barely in control, so heavily distorted it is. The two singles promised a nice EP, Linnea's Garden fully delivers and more than just nicely as well.

Kaleidoscope EP. Hilary Scott

It is over two and a half years Hilary Scott, yes, only one l, found her way to this blog with her album 'Don't Call Me Angel'. Last week an EP saw the light of day and it kicks off in a great way. 'Just A Shame' is the kind of tight singer-songwriter country rocking song that I just love to hear every once in a while. The pick up of the drums sets that tight expectation within the second it plays out. A nice intro follows before Hilary Scott starts singing in a dreamy fashion, where the band moves between tight and loud and dreamy and accommodating. Scott voice is harmonising with herself, creating a wall of vocal sounds. 'Almost Home' is slower, but again that powerful drumming is what catches my ear first. The song is one of dozens of not hundreds of the kind, true. But listen to Hilary Scott singing and chances are you'll be sold. With a voice between soft and loud, deep and high, she touches me. The lead guitar explodes a little in the chorus and shines a light on it. If I have to name someone else it is Alanis Morissette at the time of 'Jacked Little Pill', with a few years extra on her. 'Too Much Is Not Enough' underscores this idea. Hilary Scott could double as Alanis' twin sister here, with great result. This is a great song. 'And Just' moves more into pop territory and doesn't reach me in the way the first three songs do. It never truly comes alive for me. The beginning of the final song, 'Free Country', moves into R&B territory and is not for me. With three and a half out of five Kaleidoscope does not score bad, I'd say.

Shrug. Lunar Vacation

Lunar Vacation, why not?, is a band from Atlanta and releases a single to announce its debut album to be released in the fall. The song's writer tells us through the song's lyrics about the way she broke free from conventions after going through a process of realising not fitting in them. She has set the serious theme to an indie rock song, that contains a little light and some shade. The song also falls into two halves. Where the beginning is hesitant, the second half shows the breakthrough, or so I can imagine after reading the bio. Grace Repasky has a nice voice that shares the mood of the song in all the right ways. Bass, drums and rhythm guitar together are tight enough, to allow the lead guitar to sound a little wobbly in the main riff, until the song truly takes off, with some great bass parts running around. Shrug certainly is the kind of introduction to a new band I like. It makes me want to hear that debut album now!

Castaway Angles. Leprous

With a bandname like Leprous I had expected to hear a lot of noise and metal of some kind. It may well be that this is the usual musical environment of the Swedish band. I do not know, as this song is my introduction. I could not be more surprised to hear a delicate song with a singer reaching for the higher registers of his vocal range. True, the song becomes louder slowly by the minute it lasts, but metal, no. 

Like almost all other musicians Leprous was put on hold because of the pandemic and started working on an album that perhaps never would have been without it. Again the positive within the extremely negative. The album 'Aphelion' sees the light of day late August. Castaway Angles is an impressive introduction. Leprous manages to contain the delicate and the forceful within one song, without going overboard on either. The vocal performance of Einar Solberg is an important part of this achievement.

You! Vera Ellen

Looking back where I found the name Vera Ellen and I run into two recent emails. One of the duo Girl Friday and one on a new Flying Nun Records signing. You! is the debut single of Vera Ellen on Flying Nun announcing the album 'It's Your Birthday' for some time later this year. I should have recognised the stamp in Vera Ellen's music immediately of course. The accent in her singing and the music have the feel of The Beths' brilliant 2020 album 'Jump Rope Gazers'. You! is slightly more alternative and punky. It has a slightly rough edge, mainly because of the sound of her voice. You! is deliciously up tempo. The kind of alternative rocking song that is direct and in your face. A kick in the butt to start moving to the rhythm. "I only wanted you", as Vera Ellen sings, may be a bit overstated, but there's no doubt I like what I'm hearing and can't wait to hear more.

In Your Face. Goatfather

Time for some hardrock bordering on metal. I'm reminded immediately of metal bands from Scandinavia somewhere in the 90s. The deep end is closely guarded. All is dark and resonating the lower registers of the guitars and bass, match by forcefully played drums. The skin and cymbals are pounded on, not played. 'Monster Truck', release 17 September, will be Goatfather's second album. The French band really lays it on, showcasing what they are capable of. The singing is forceful, loud screams are thrown in for dramatic effect. I'm glad I do not have to imitate it. Listening to it is fine, as Goatfather finds the melody within its stonerrock with ease. Somewhere halfway the song a guitar solo is allowed to escape the deep end adding immediately to the whole. As I wrote, forceful stuff, In Your Face is.

Ravenala. Kloothommel

And here's single number three by Kloothommel on this blog. Ravenala is the antithesis of what I've just heard. The song starts with a jazzy rhythm and jazzy sounding guitar. Kloothommel presents itself in laidback mood on Ravenala. High clear sounding guitars meander of the relaxed rhythm the bass and drums lay down. The singing matches the mood totally. As the song plays out a guitar overdub here and there can be heard. Large sections of Ravenala are instrumental by the way, where the band plays out the little motives its created in the relaxed way the whole song is constructed. The Ravenala is a Madagascan tree, "the traveller's tree", and the traveller's mood is reflected in the song. The kind where all's fine and nothing needs to be done. With only a week left before Kloothommel releases 'Portonovo', Ravenala provides a nice incentive to start listening to the album, once again.

Boulevard. Tessel

In January Utrecht based band Tessel debuted with its first single and on this blog. With Boulevard a second single is released. Boulevard is a light-hearted alternative pop single that manages to lay the right kind of accents in the rhythm of the song, giving it a sprightly character. Listening closer I realise that Tessel within the context of modern Dutch alternative rock could best be compared to Roberto Jacketti and the Scooters than to The Scene. The pop element in its two songs are of the kind that could appeal to a larger audience than current bands as Slow Worries or Price most likely will. At the same time Tessel operates fairly close in the same fishpond, most likely the one directly next to the other pond. Boulevard is the kind of song that settles into the mind just this little easier, like nowadays The Vices do. That's not bad company to be close to.

Solar Power. Lorde

Lorde is no longer a teenage girl but a young woman. Having sprung on the world with a global hit out of nothing, 'Royals'. That is getting close to a decade ago. For me, things went quiet where Lorde was concerned. That has more to do with me, most likely, as her music was not in my range, really. With Solar Power she attracted my attention once again. This single is an extremely powerful song. Lorde more or less does the same as with 'Royals', but with less electronics. An acoustic guitar drives the song onwards into a modern rhythm, with a traditional instrument. The surprise comes with the chorus, when Solar Power becomes a stripped down version of a Primal Scream hit like e.g. 'Loaded'. Lorde overdubbed her voices several times, making the song more mysterious. For me it comes as a big surprise, as, unlike 'Royals', Solar Power works directly for me. Where 'Royals' took its time conquering me, Solar Power has no hesitation. The song holds several elements that make it extremely attractive. Yes, there's a little Lana del Rey in there, but a lot more Lorde. Simply well done.

Wout de Natris

 

Listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

We Wither, We Bloom. The Northern Belle

Noorse rootsmuziek is meestal nogal donker en zwaarmoedig, maar de muziek van The Northern Belle klinkt verrassend licht en zonnig en is ook nog eens van een hoog niveau.

Zonder een Amerikaans jaarlijstje had ik We Wither, We Bloom van The Northern Bell waarschijnlijk nooit ontdekt, maar direct bij eerste beluistering was ik overtuigd van de muziek van de band uit Oslo. The Northern Belle sluit enerzijds aan bij de Amerikaanse folk en country, maar de band is ook niet vies van een wat meer pop georiënteerd geluid met hier en daar een vleugje 70s Fleetwood Mac. Zeker voor Noorse begrippen klinkt het verrassend licht en zonnig, zeker wanneer aanstekelijke gitaarakkoorden het geluid op We Wither, We Bloom bepalen. Ik had tot voor kort nog nooit van de band gehoord, maar de eerste kennismaking is een bijzonder aangename.

Ook We Wither, We Bloom van The Northern Belle haalde ik uit een jaarlijstje met voornamelijk rootsalbums. Het is een album dat ik vorig jaar niet ben tegengekomen, maar het derde album van de Noorse band is absoluut de moeite waard. 

The Northern Belle maakt op We Wither, We Bloom geen geheim van de liefde voor country en folk, maar de band uit Oslo klinkt meestal niet als een doorsnee rootsband. Waar Scandinavische bands vaak een voorkeur hebben voor behoorlijk donkere popmuziek, strooit The Northern Belle driftig met zonnestralen. 

We Wither, We Bloom staat vol met heerlijke gitaarloopjes die het verlangen naar de zomer aanwakkeren en grossiert ook in aanstekelijke popliedjes die al even makkelijk de winter verdrijven. Zeker de wat meer uptempo songs op het album bevatten flink wat invloeden uit de pop, maar The Northern Belle kiest zo nu en dan ook voor meer ingetogen songs die dichter tegen de pure folk en country aan kruipen. 

Dat We Wither, We Bloom niet erg Scandinavisch klinkt is overigens niet zo gek. Zangeres Stine Andreassen schreef de teksten van de songs voor het derde album van haar band toen ze in Nashville, Tennessee, verbleef. 

Deze Stine Andreassen was niet alleen verantwoordelijk voor de teksten, maar bepaalt met haar aangename stem ook voor een belangrijk deel het geluid van de band. Het is een stem die folky kan klinken, maar die ook heel goed uit de voeten kan met de wat lichtvoetigere en meer pop georiënteerde songs op het album. 

Samen met de rest van de band tekende Stine Andreassen voor de muziek op We Wither, We Bloom en ook die is dik in orde. The Northern Belle kent de klassiekers uit Nashville, maar verrijkt haar rootsy geluid hier en daar met heerlijk zonnig klinkende gitaren. 

Dat klinkt onweerstaanbaar lekker, maar ook als de zonnige klanken tijdelijk worden verruild voor een soberder en stemmiger geluid valt de muziek van The Northern Belle in positieve zin op door mooie arrangementen en smaakvolle accenten. De Noorse band kan bovendien uit de voeten met zowel meer ingetogen als wat stevigere songs, waardoor We Wither, We Bloom een lekker veelzijdig album is. 

Rootspuristen vinden het waarschijnlijk net wat teveel pop, maar persoonlijk ben ik zeer gecharmeerd van het geluid van The Northern Belle en zeker van de stem van Stine Andreassen, die de songs op We Wither, We Bloom stuk voor stuk voorziet van het beetje extra dat nodig is om op te vallen binnen het enorme aanbod in het genre. 

Het derde album van de band uit Oslo is ook nog eens een groeiplaatje, want zowel de rootsy songs als de songs met vooral invloeden uit de pop met hier en daar een vleugje Fleetwood Mac uit de jaren 70, worden nog lange tijd beter, interessanter en zeker ook aangenamer. 

Het is niet veel Scandinavische bands gegeven om potten te breken in de thuisbasis van de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek, maar We Wither, We Bloom kon vorig jaar rekenen op goede recensies in de Verenigde Staten en wist dus zelfs een keer een gerespecteerd jaarlijstje te halen. Ik begrijp het wel, want iedere keer als ik luister naar dit aangename album word ik er weer wat vrolijker van en hoor ik nog meer moois in de muziek van The Northern Belle.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt We Wither, We Bloom hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://thenorthernbelle.bandcamp.com/album/we-wither-we-bloom

 

of luister naar onze Spotify Playlist om uit te vinden waar we over schrijven:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

 

 

Songs/Instrumentals. Adrienne Lenker

Adrianne Lenker moest haar zegetocht met Big Thief vorig jaar afbreken vanwege de corona pandemie, maar bracht vervolgens twee bijzondere en vaak wonderschone albums uit.

Wat doe je als muzikant als de tour van je band wordt geannuleerd en je relatie ook nog eens op de klippen loopt? Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker koos voor de afzondering en nam uiteindelijk twee albums op. Instrumentals bevat sfeervolle improvisaties, die aan het einde van de dag werden opgenomen en de soundtrack van een lockdown zijn, maar het mooiste staat toch op Songs waarop Adrianne Lenker ontroert en imponeert met uiterst sobere songs. Het zijn songs zonder opsmuk, maar met heel veel emotie en het zijn songs die worden gezongen op een manier waarop alleen Adrianne Lenker dit kan. Daar moet je van houden, maar als je er van houdt is het 40 minuten lang goed voor kippenvel.

Op 8 maart 2020 stond Adrianne Lenker met haar band Big Thief in een uitverkocht Paradiso. Het was de eerste fase van een wereldtour die een zegetocht had moeten worden, maar er lag een virus op de loer en dit virus zou binnen een paar dagen korte metten maken met de tour van Big Thief. Adrianne Lenker sloot zich vervolgens op in een berghut in Massachusetts, waar ze niet alleen de pandemie probeerde te ontvluchten, maar ook een verbroken relatie wilde verwerken. 

Toen de songs in haar hoofd serieuzer werden vroeg ze Philip Weinrobe, een bevriend geluidstechnicus, aan te sluiten met een karrevracht aan apparatuur en werden twee albums opgenomen. De twee albums, Songs en Instrumentals, zijn deze week verschenen en het zijn albums waarvan de vlag de lading uitstekend dekt. 

Songs is voor mij het interessantste album van de twee. Ik heb Adrianne Lenker immers hoog zitten als zangeres en als songwriter. De albums van Big Thief duiken inmiddels enkele jaren op in mijn jaarlijstjes, met als hoogtepunt de dubbelslag van 2019, en ook het drie jaar geleden verschenen soloalbum van Adrianne Lenker, Abysskiss, vond ik erg mooi. 

Helemaal onomstreden zijn de zangkwaliteiten van Adrianne Lenker niet. Hier thuis jaagt ze, mij uitgezonderd, echt iedereen de gordijnen in met haar stem en manier van zingen en ik lees wel vaker kritiek op de vocale prestaties van de Amerikaanse singer-songwriter. Het zal niet veranderen bij beluistering van Songs, dat ik van de eerste tot en met de laatste noot prachtig vind. 

Songs is gemaakt met eenvoudige middelen. Een akoestische gitaar, een stem en bescheiden opnameapparatuur waren het enige dat Adrianne Lenker in de berghut tot haar beschikking had, maar het is genoeg. Met bescheiden middelen heeft Adrianne Lenker immers de meeste impact, dat bewees ze al eerder. 

Songs grijpt je onmiddellijk bij de strot als je vatbaar bent voor de muziek van Adrianne Lenker. Het herinnert in muzikaal opzicht aan het vroege werk van bijvoorbeeld Joni Mitchell. Geen opsmuk, alleen pure klanken en heel veel emotie. Ondanks de bescheiden middelen weet de frontvrouw van Big Thief bijna veertig minuten indruk te maken en verveelt Songs geen seconde. 

Adrianne Lenker varieert met het tempo, varieert met het geluid van haar akoestische gitaar en varieert met haar stem, waardoor Songs zeker geen eenvormig album is. Het is overigens bijzonder hoe geluiden uit de omringende natuur vrijwel rimpelloos worden opgenomen in de intieme songs op het album en bijna klinken als instrumenten. 

Het is zo intiem en zo melancholisch dat het bijna pijn doet, maar de songs op het album zijn ook van een bijzondere en ruwe schoonheid. Songs zorgt bijna veertig minuten lang voor kippenvel en bevestigt voor mij voor de zoveelste keer het enorme talent van Adrianne Lenker, die met haar persoonlijke songs steeds dieper onder de huid kruipt. 

We zijn dan pas op de helft, want wanneer Songs eindigt begint Instrumentals. Adrianne Lenker sloot de dag in de berghut af met getokkel op haar akoestische gitaar, dat samenvloeide met geluiden uit de natuur en de windgongen in de berghut. Het lijkt soms wat vrijblijvend getokkel, maar Adrianne Lenker slaagt er in om een bijzondere sfeer te creëren, die haar gemoedstoestand in de berghut in Massachussetts misschien wel net zo goed typeert als haar songs. 

Instrumentals is aan het eind van de dag verrassend fraai muzikaal behang dat je even uit de krankzinnige wereld van het moment haalt, maar als ik echt geraakt wil worden door Adrianne Lenker, kies ik toch voor het wonderschone Songs dat het credo “less is more” nog maar eens zeer nadrukkelijk onderschrijft.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Songs en Instrumentals hier luisteren en bestellen:

 

https://adriannelenker.bandcamp.com/music

 

 

of luister naar onze Spotify Playlist om uit te vinden waar we over schrijven:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

Terra Papagalli. Jef Maarawi

Terra Papagalli is the kind of album that brings me back decades to the time I was still discovering all sorts of music coming in unfiltered as there was no comparison, except to music I liked as a young child that came in at face value. Music that I did not really like or thought too weird or that I simply was too young to appreciate when a teenager. Jef Maarawi presents a host of singer-songwriter influences that range all the way from Leo Sayer to Westcoast/Laurel Canyon singer-songwriters. Perhaps I never started to appreciate them all in later years.

Terra Papagalli, brings all these moods and musical references together in a most pleasant way, pressing a lot of buttons that crave pushing when listening to new music.

Jef Maarawi is a singer-songwriter with a story. Originating from Brazil he now lives in Athens, Greece where he writes and records his music.  Having a mother of Brazilian-Greek descent, winding up in Athens is less strange than it might appear at first glance. Having first released songs under the name Egg Hell, Maarawi released his first album in 2017, 'Comfort Food'.

On Terra Papagalli (land of parrots) a host of influences come together. In his singing I'm immediately reminded of both L.A. singer Patrick Joseph as NYC singer Steve Waitt, both so obscure that a direct influence is unlikely. Musically, as already pointed out, the range varies considerably.

Promo photo: Eftyhia Vlahou

The album contains songs that are immediately pleasing. Take the slow paced song 'How To Sustain Minor Losses'. The slow chords of the guitar with a heavy chorus effect on it, draw me in immediately. The kind of song that does not need a lot of effects to impress. Steve Waitt is one side, but the other is the kind of blue-eyed soul of the likes of Jon Allen and Jack Francis coming out of the south of England. I can state immediately that I like Terra Papagalli more as the songs are better and the album overall is far more varied. The differences between the songs is what keeps me alert when listening to the album.

With Terra Papagalli Jef Maarawi allows his listeners to relax and enjoy his songs, his music. With the album he invites you to listen and drop all else. The experience is both relaxing and gratifying. A short escape from a hectic world in which you as listener can slowly follow the changes he presents in his music, some predictable, others a surprise like the bitingly sung "mind your own fucking business" in 'Consume me'. Shocked ears are soothed by softly sung ah ahs, provided by the ladies singing the backing vocals. There are more surprises making the acquaintance with Terra Papagalli more than worth your while. Listen closely and you will even find hints at Maarawi's Brazilian roots.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Terra Papagalli here:

https://jefmaarawi-inner-ear.bandcamp.com/album/terra-papagalli

or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

I Know I'm Funny Haha. Faye Webster

Having just listened to Black Midi's Cavalcade I can only wonder why would anyone ever want to make a mainstream, so boring album as I Know I'm Funny Haha, except as a token of irony? The contrast is just so huge! All joking aside, Faye Webster does a lot right on her new album, that is instantly pleasing, also in sharp contrast to the aforementioned album.

Faye Webster made her debut on these pages with her single 'Cheers'. To stay within the topic of contrasts, 'Cheers' also is nothing like I expected to hear on the album based on this alternative, mildly rocking song. Still nothing is keeping me from writing on it.

Faye Webster is only 23 and already the world sees her fourth album release. Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, she decided to work with producer Drew Vandenberg, family names do not come more Dutch, and together put together a band. It resulted in a tremendously relaxed album that ought to resonate with fans of a few of the recent female singers coming out of New Zealand in the past year and multiple U.S. singers. With one "bad-ass track" as she calls it herself, 'Cheers'. It does make me wonder, that when she likes it this much, why not have more songs like it on the record?

As I said I was taken fully by surprise by the relaxed and laidback, almost jazzy songs on I Know I'm Funny Haha. Uniformity is a danger to the album, by the time I'm moving into the final songs. Before that moment there's more than enough to enjoy. The songs are intricate little musical wonders creeping into my ears to tickle them and stick around there easily.

Let's move back to the opening song, 'Better Distractions'. The clear drumming, the pedal steel's intro, the broad sound of the mix, allows for Faye Webster's voice to cut straight through the middle and grab me. The slow rhythm is of the kind that grabs me, telling me to pay attention. The slow singing, Webster simply takes her time to deliver her vocals, adds to the relaxed mood. The long notes on the pedal steel do the rest, allowing the piano to play some languorous solo notes over the song's structure offered by the bass and drums. Partly I have the impression to be back in the late 70s, with musicians like Christopher Cross and Joni Mitchell.

This is the mood of the album until song number 7, 'Cheers'. Song 8 holds some elements of an alternative rock ballad. The return to form, for this album, in song number 9, is slightly disappointing. I have already had six songs in this style and the break promised just a little more than I receive. It does take a little away from the album as a whole for me. The first 8 songs certainly landed extremely well.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order I Know I'm Funny Haha here:

https://fayewebster.bandcamp.com/album/i-know-im-funny-haha

or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g